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Gerry Laschober took a picture of marks left on his wrist after being handcuffed in March 2017. Photo courtesy of Gerry Laschober
* Fourth in a series
Editor’s note: This is a developing story. It is complex and involves numerous incidents, individuals and agencies. A federal civil rights lawsuit was brought by trout farmer Gerald “Gerry” Laschober against Swain County Sheriff Curtis Cochran and Bryson City Police Chief Charles Robinson. Attempts to interview Cochran, Robinson and their attorneys have been unsuccessful.
Ela – Gerry Laschober has a lot of friends in law enforcement and the legal community, but it’s safe to say Swain County Sheriff Curtis Cochran and Bryson City Police Chief Charles Robinson are not among them.
Over the years – directly and indirectly – Laschober, who manages Cooper Creek Trout Farm, has been at odds with the two numerous times. Laschober even campaigned for a challenger against Cochran in the 2018 election.
Law enforcement is a close-knit profession, particularly in rural, mountainous western North Carolina. Lightly armed and often patrolling alone, officers rely on their backup. In sparsely-populated counties such as Swain, the bonds that unite them are often what keeps them alive.
This has some side effects. Word gets out and over time, it’s common for people to fall into a “usual suspects” category. Conversely, for civilians who have had bad experiences with law enforcement, further interactions can be hostile.
On March 17, 2017, Laschober was arrested after he allegedly avoided a law enforcement checkpoint in Swain County.
Laschober is not a lawyer, but the veteran could be described as what is known in the U.S. Navy as a “sea lawyer” – a contentious sailor who habitually argues, questions orders and regulations, etc.
Laschober contested the arrest, researched laws governing law enforcement checkpoints, picked apart the documentation, demanded a jury trial and appeared in court time and time again until, some 17 months later, the charges were quietly dropped.
While the prosecution against him was in progress, Laschober obtained documents from law enforcement that illustrated their side of the story, revealed inconsistencies and possible outright fabrications – but, more importantly, demonstrate that among law enforcement officials, the word was out on Gerry Laschober.
Words from patrol
Case in point: The statement made by N.C. Highway Patrol Trooper Aaron Ammons following Laschober’s arrest in March 2017.
“… I was assigned to work a Seatbelt Enforcement Project in Swain County,” Ammons wrote. “As part of the assignment, I was encouraged by supervisors to conduct saturation patrols and checkpoints while looking for seatbelt violations. On this day I was the only Trooper assigned to Swain Co. and I asked the Sheriff’s Department and Bryson City Police Department for assistance with a driver’s license checkpoint.”
After obtaining approval from a supervising sergeant, a checkpoint was established on Walker Woody Road, with Deputy Tyler Shade and Officer Josh Freeman assisting Ammons. During the operation, a dark gray Honda Accord approached but started to make a U-turn “in what was an obvious attempt to avoid the checkpoint.”
Ammons said Freeman ran after the vehicle, briefly catching up to it while shouting to the driver to stop.
“I heard the driver yell (an expletive) before driving away,” he said.
Ammons jumped into his patrol car and “pursued after the fleeing vehicle.”
Freeman recalled it a little differently. He wrote that the driver said the expletive before giving him a middle finger.
Ammons wrote that he had his blue lights activated, and then his siren, after the driver failed to stop. The driver continued north on U.S. 19 – past Joe’s Pawn Shop, past the entrance to the Highway Patrol District Office and past Johnson Branch before finally pulling into Moon’s Tire Shop.
“After pulling into the tire shop, the driver door opened up and the driver got out of the vehicle with an aggressive look and demeanor on his face. At this point I had never seen this man before and no knowledge of who he was,” Ammons wrote.
Ammons placed the driver in handcuffs “for his safety and mine. While doing so, he gave some resistance by at first refusing to place his hands behind his back or turn around facing away from me. I had no idea if the man was armed or not and felt it necessary to place him in handcuffs until I could assess the situation as to why he turned at the checkpoint and refused to stop.
“I asked the driver what his name was and his reply was ‘you know who I am.’ I stated to him that I had no idea who he was and his reply ‘I live at the end of Cooper Creek at the fish pond.’ ”
Rings a bell
Ammons wrote that he recalled hearing from other law enforcement officers that “previously this man had been uncooperative with Law Enforcement, his neighbors in his community, he had a reputation of being argumentative, confrontational and escalating situations. I also recalled hearing a situation where he had pointed a gun at some individuals.
“I asked this man why he did not stop. He stated to me that he did not know what was going on, he thought it was a drug bust or a murder scene. Also stated that there weren’t any signs indicating a checkpoint so he felt like he did not have to stop.”
Laschober recalled that law enforcement was using unmarked vehicles at the checkpoint, an apparent violation of rules that require law enforcement checkpoints to use marked cars and uniformed officers. It is not illegal to avoid a checkpoint, although a sudden U-turn could arouse suspicion and lead to a traffic stop, according to several legal advice websites covering state law.
“I then asked him why he did not stop when I was behind him with blue lights and siren on after passing three places with sufficient area for him
to stop,” Ammons continued. "He stated to me that he thought I was Sheriff Cochran and that he did not feel safe stopping for me, so he traveled to his friend’s place of business where it could be witnessed in case we tried to ‘(mess) him up.’ ”
By that time, Freeman arrived to assist Ammons, standing with Laschober while he was in custody and while Ammons checked for wants and warrants over his radio. There were none except for this incident, which law enforcement later used among its justification for a search warrant of his property, even though charges were later dropped and Laschober has no criminal record.
Ammons cited Laschober for falling to stop for blue light and siren, along with fleeing the checkpoint and physical resistance.
Dealing with threats
In an accompanying statement he wrote two days after the checkpoint, Freeman said, “As I was standing with the suspect he stated that he had experienced bad dealings with Officer Doug Woodard (Swain County Sheriff’s Office) and that Officer Woodard had threatened his life.
“Suspect stated that he wished that he had killed Deputy Woodard that day, and that he was going to start killing law enforcement in general, if we did not leave him alone. He then stated that he did not know if Trooper Ammons, and I were even legitimate Law Enforcement. He then requested to know how I could prove that we were both Law Enforcement Officers.”
It is unclear when Ammons wrote his narrative. He either wrote it right after the incident and added to it just shy of three months later, or he wrote it all just shy of three months later, because he refers to incidents that took place later.
“Since this incident, Mr. Laschober has followed me through town taking my picture on at least two separate occasions,” Ammons wrote.
Next installment: Laying the groundwork for search warrants.